There’s only one thing to do in Paris on a dull, drizzly day, and that’s head indoors to some of the multitude of museums.  The bonus is that many of them are housed in spectacularly ornate buildings so you can appreciate the art and the architecture all at once.

Back on our Metrogaine for another hectic day, our Museum pass got a real workout.  First a quick stroll through the Tuileries, dodging puddles and a few dedicated joggers.  We took refuge in the Orangerie, a museum which features eight enormous curved panels of Monet waterlilies.  It took him 12 years to complete them, and he donated them to France so that people could take a break from the bustle of city life and spend some contemplative time.  It was a pleasant interlude.

Next we visited Place de la Concorde with its obelisk and fountains, site of hundreds of guillotinings during the Revolution, before heading west for something quite different – La Defense and the Grande Arch.    La Defense is the high rise commercial sector of Paris, built quite a way from the centre of the city.  Unlike Melbourne, Parisians live in the city and commute to its edge for work.  It was a decided contrast to the styles of architecture we’d been seeing everywhere else.

Place de la Concord

Looking up at the inside of the Grand Arch, La Defense

Lunch was a highlight – we found a GF creperie called Biosphere Café.  Their specialty is galettes, or buckwheat crepes.  I had a “forestier” with egg, cheese and mushrooms.  Ian’s had ham, egg and cheese.  They were so good that I couldn’t resist having another for dessert, with dark chocolate sauce.  Tres bon!

Galette for lunch

Needing to walk off this indulgence, we headed to the Hotel des Invalides which houses several museums.  I paid a visit to the Rodin museum which features two of his most famous works – The Thinker, in bronze, and The Kiss, in marble.  The Kiss is stunning, the detail and proportion is perfect.  Ian, meanwhile, went to the Armee museum of military history.  I joined him later and we saw the extravagantly opulent tomb of Napoleon, and the section on the two world wars.

Dome, Hotel des Invalides. The Tomb of Napoleon lies underneath.

We could see the Eiffel Tower – at least the lower half – the top was shrouded in cloud.  Abandoning our plan to climb it, we headed instead to the Arc de Triomphe and ascended 284 steps to the viewing platform 50 metres above the Champs Elysees.  We could see along all the 12 avenues that radiate from the Etoile, and far beyond.

Busy Champs Elysees from the top of the Arc de Triomphe

No visit to Paris is complete without a stroll along the Champs, and apparently every single person in Paris thought the same thing.  If this is the low season, I would hate to see it at the peak of tourist season.  Paris on a Saturday is more crowded than during the week, and the Metro trains and subway tunnels were packed.  We became quite adept at ducking and weaving through the throng of people.

We finished the day on a high – what could be better than a boat cruise along the Seine, seeing all the buildings illuminated.  Paris is a beautiful city by day, and even more so at night. Even the rain stopped.  Our boat travelled from Pont Neuf to the Eiffel Tower, then all the way back past Notre Dame, under many of the Seine bridges.  It was a wonderful way to see both sides of the river in a very relaxed manner.  The golden glowing Tower had an eerie halo around the top, a very different view to the postcard version.

The Eiffel Tower in all its golden glory

The Louvre from our Seine cruise

Tomorrow is our last day in Paris, we are promised better weather for our visit to Montmartre. Fingers crossed. Meanwhile Ian has discovered the French version of Dancing With The Stars, a show that needs no translation – glitter and sequins are universal!